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CONTEMPORARY JAPAN, 2017 VOL. 29, NO. 1, 1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/18692729.2017.1281510 EDITORIAL Dear reader, You might have noticed that this new issue of Contemporary Japan (CJ) comes with a few changes. If you like brainteasers like ‘spot the difference,’ you might stop reading here, pick up the last issue, and check by yourself how many modifications you can detect. Yes, CJ 2017(1) comes with a new design. But more importantly, we have a new publisher. At the beginning of the year, we moved to Routledge (Taylor & Francis), one of the leading international publishing houses in area studies on Asia and Japan. Our editorial board has been extended by new members from the US, Japan, and Australia. You will also find a new name under the title managing editor. Peter Backhaus, whose excellent support helped us grow the journal over the last 3 years, is succeeded by Isaac Gagné. Isaac will be employed in a senior research position, which will allow us to further promote and professionalize CJ. We dropped the subtitle ‘Journal of the German Institute for Japanese Studies Tokyo,’ as those not familiar with the journal might have thought that we only published ‘our’ research. The large number of